Shattered Fragments
by AquaJasmine23
Summary: The Rumbelle aftermath of 2x01 "Broken". What happens when Emma, Henry, Snow and Charming, & Ruby need to know what's in the future for Storybrooke and its fairytale residents? They may end up wishing that they'd waited. Or at least stayed in the main room of Gold's shop and, you know, not opened the curtain. Emma requires some bleach.
1. The Glass Breaks

**SHATTERED FRAGMENTS**

**BY: AquaJasmine23**

**Rated: T**

**A/N: This is a Rumbelle fic, set just after the curse is broken, except for Emma and Snow didn't go through the portal, and Regina clearly didn't die via the Wraith.**

* * *

"But now you must go." It broke his heart to say it. But her safety was so much more important.

He loved her. Plain and simple, except she was anything but. His Belle.

"What?" Belle's small voice was incredulous. "I just came back!" she protested, and his heart and mind lurched simultaneously, but he had to protect her. She. Was. Everything.

Belle meant more to him than power, yes, but he needed power to find his son Baelfire, and as long as he had his dark magic, Belle was _not_ safe.

Rumplestiltskin's voice shook a bit as he spoke, and he was sure she knew it. "You think you see a good man, but in time?… you'd see the monster. And you'd leave. As well you should." _She should. So why hadn't she? He'd offered her the chance… four times now?_ "No matter what you may have hoped, Belle, I haven't changed; … I'm still the beast." _Gods, it hurt_.

Especially when he saw the crushed look on her delicate- looking face, and the freezing sadness in her aquamarine eyes.

"Don't you see? That's exactly why I have to stay!" Belle almost laughed as she said it. She clutched his hand.

For ages he just stared at her, trying to comprehend how in all the realms he'd fallen in love with such a goddess who could stand the likes of him and was brave enough to… try and get him to change. Wow. By the gods.

"Belle…" the Great and Oh- So- Powerful (_oops. That was the Wizard of Oz… bad memories all around, hmm_.) Dark One Rumplestiltskin trailed off hopelessly.

"I'm staying with you," Belle interrupted, her voice like velvet and silk, and he wanted to die. "I love you."

"Belle… you know I love you. But you can't… " He nearly threw his hands in the air in frustration. "Belle… the deal we made. It's null and void. You're free. You can leave whenever, go wherever. I will let you have anything."

She wrapped her slender arms around him and tucked her head under his chin, and he breathed in her scent eagerly, and he felt like death again. _His Belle_. "Rumple. I'm never going to leave you, so give it up."

She kissed him quickly, chastely.

He smiled at her and his eyes closed.

* * *

"Are you disappointed? Since Regina didn't die by the Wraith," Belle clarified in her soft little voice, after about ten minutes of just, well, sitting there by his wheel, together at last, savouring the moments. Rumplestiltskin was watching her, slightly awestruck in his discreet way. _Her eyes glimmered_, he noticed. The bright cerulean colour he'd missed for so long.

He tried to answer honestly. "I don't give a bloody _damn_ about Regina, Belle. I only care about _your_ happiness." And he didn't. And he was telling the truth.

And he was rewarded by her rich smile.

Rumplestiltskin felt, at that moment, that aside from the dreadful matter of his wanting to tear Rheul Ghorm to shreds, he was happy, because he had Belle again, and nothing felt wrong for once.

The only thing missing was his son.

_Baelfire_.

He needed to make amends. He needed to prove that he was _not_ Malcolm and never would be.

"Thank you, Rumple," said his Belle, her auburn curls trailing down her back as she embraced him and buried her face in his shoulder. "Thank you."

"Belle," he said in response, "do you remember- long ago, I told you about my son."

Recognition flared in her eyes. Her perfect smile shone, and the corners of his own mouth quirked up. "I do. Baelfire, right?"

Rumplestiltskin nodded, his arms wrapping almost unconsciously around her waist and pulling her closer. "Indeed. I… I must find him, Belle."

She pulled back slightly to examine his face in that way that only she could, a mixture of happiness and fright and worry. And exasperation. "Rumple. You don't know what will happen if you go over the town line. Please, wait until it's determined by … the town." He opened his mouth, but she cut him off. He laughed inwardly as she did, knowing that only Belle (_and perhaps Emma Swan_) would have the nerve to do such a thing. "And don't you dare talk like you're going without me. I _will_ come with you, and you've no say in the matter, because my decision is _final_."

He couldn't help the impish smirk that graced his face, even though he knew he'd be terrified that she'd get hurt (and he wouldn't have the magic to heal it, not outside Storybrooke) if she came. "Well, well, you're stubborn, aren't you, dearie?"

"Rumple, I lived with you. I kind of have to be stubborn. Survival tactic," she added cheekily, flashing a brilliant grin his way.

Rumplestiltskin, the oh- so- feared Dark One, couldn't help himself. He leaned in and whispered "_I love you_" against Belle's creamy- soft cheek before kissing her gently.

Oh, it still baffled him as to how the bloody hell someone so beautiful could love such a _beast_. But still. Twenty- seven years and a good four- fifths of the last remaining cycle of seasons without memory … and then the other scattered months… more than a year in total, without her, with only the memory of a brief brush of the lips and a chipped cup. The rest he'd spent as clueless, cursed Mr. Gold. _But still._

But this was Belle, not Milah or Cora, and so of course she responded (in a non- crazed- with- lust- and- not- just- for- sex- but- also- for- power; like Cora always always always had) , snatching his gold silk tie and reeling him in for a deeper kiss, letting him explore her mouth. They came up for air a minute later, both breathing heavily, Belle's eyes shining and her lips rose- red. Like the dead ex- rose, Sir Gaston, except… Belle was beautiful in every single way imaginable… _unlike Gaston._

"Not as innocent as the image projects, are you?" he inquired of her, smiling like a madman- like Jefferson- and she laughed with him. "Oh, my darling Belle."

"I love you too," she said, as an answer to his proclamation from moments ago. "I love you, Rumple."

And then they were kissing again and as she half- tripped to sit right beside him (_half on top of him- half sitting on him!)_ by his spinning wheel, Rumplestiltskin had absolutely no desire to leave, and certainly not to abandon his only true love, ever again.

* * *

It was with great reluctance that Emma Swan, the newly recognized Saviour and breaker of the Dark Curse ("_the Curse to end all Curses, Miss Swan_") walked up and pushed the door to Mr. Gold's Pawnshop open with her parents (_Snow White and Prince Charming!_), Henry (_her normal*ish* son… descended from a long line of both good and evil, _technically_)_, and Ruby (_Little Red Riding Hood… and the Wolf. What the hell was the fricking world coming to?_) right on her heels. The seven dwarves had decided to wait on the sidewalk, not eager to see Rumplestiltskin the infamous Deal- Maker yet again.

Not that Emma was, obviously. Twice a day (about Henry with Regina, and then confronting him with her parents about _abandoning her in the elevator shaft_) was about seven hundred and twenty- eight days too many. Twice a year… she was being _generous_, all things considered.

Her life was, as she'd decided to call it from now on, Massively Screwed Up And Around. She'd just watched and been in a conversation with the Blue Fairy, Snow White and Prince Charming (_who, BTW, were her _parents), the Seven Dwarves, Red Riding Hood (_also the Big Bad Wolf_) and her Granny (_who owned a _diner_. What the hell?_), and her son, about going to find Rumplestiltskin (_who, according to Henry, was "also a _crocodile_ and a _beast_", not to mention the _Dark One) to discuss what the hell was the town going to do. _And also, could they leave or not?_

Emma still didn't understand the whole beast- and-crocodile thing, so she had decided to ignore it for now; there were far more pressing matters.

The sign was turned to Closed, as Mary Margaret / Snow White (_her mother_, who was also around the same age as her) had commented on.

Emma didn't think much of it. It wasn't like there was much for him to do.

She and Mary Margaret had been extremely lucky to have Regina (_of all people, how the actual bloody hell_…) harness her magic (_born out of mostly desperation when Henry had arrived with Ruby and started screaming about not losing his family_) and manage to pull them out (_wrapped in thick, super uncomfortable vines_).

_Bona fortuna anyone?_

But unfortunately, Jefferson's hat and/ or magical portal _thingamabob_ had disappeared into the unknown, and apparently that was _very very bad_. Because apparently anyone could use it to bring themselves to Storybrooke, and apparently Regina and Gold had a lot of enemies.

_Shocker_.

Emma heard a groan come from the back room, and she tensed automatically, wary and unsure. Should she pull back the curtain? Being a bail bonds person had taught her a bit (a lot) of what comes from behind closed doors… ick. She winced and wished for some bleach. Mental images galore. Gross.

Amidst all this totally screwed stuff, there was actually one thing Emma should have thanked Regina for; she never had to have _The Talk_ with her parents, Snow and Charming.

* * *

Rumplestiltskin gathered Belle in his arms. She clung to him desperately, like he was a lifeline.

He loved her… so much.

Her tiny smooth hands slid inside his suit jacket and came around his back and she crushed him to her, and he remembered she was much stronger than she looked, and they were still kissing, and there was the bell(not the one in his arms) but Rumplestiltskin no longer cared about anything that wasn't Belle. Unless Baelfire (the non- Pinocchio version) came charging into the shop shouting forgiveness, Rumplestiltskin didn't give a bloody damn.

She was pure love, his Belle, everything about her. She smelled like sunlight (_if that had a scent?)_ and reminded him of the vial of True Love he'd given Snow White's foolish Prince Charming to hide in Maleficent. Her lips were paradise, her eyes the sea and sky and world beyond, and he would _never_ send her away again.

* * *

"Aren't you going in?" Emma's almost eleven- year- old son questioned when she stopped. Ruby looked dubious. Snow and Charming just looked oblivious. Did they really not have a clue as to what was going on?

… _But then again_…

"I don't know," she replied honestly. Henry's face turned curious.

"Come on, guys, let's just go back to Granny's or something," suggested Ruby.

"No," Emma's father said instantly. "We have to find out what the hell is gonna happen, and I really don't think Regina's in the mood to assist."

Emma face- palmed mentally. "I don't think…" she trailed off.

Henry walked right behind her, Ruby following, and behind her Emma's parents, and so they all saw the horror when she did.

It was Gold- _Rumplestiltskin_. And an actual _woman_. Wrapped around the spinning wheel in his back room, making out like they'd die if they couldn't. Emma blinked as she gasped like a little girl first learning about the birds and bees, feeling like her meager- and- mostly- nonexistent breakfast was going to make a reappearance. It did _look_ consensual, however, so she _didn't_ need to arrest Gold (_again_), which was good, because according to her parents he was a "pretty frickin' powerful, overly manipulative, slightly insane dark mage" in their world, so it wouldn't do any good.

She tried to grasp reality. And failed. So she focused on the people beside her. Maybe she was the only one who thought this was weird?

But no, because Mary Margaret and David had seemed fairly disgusted whilst discussing both the appearance and attitude of the '_Dark One_' (aka Gold back in their world) so Emma suspected they'd have a similar reaction.

Henry was openly gawking, eyes wide and jaw dropped, and Ruby stumbled backwards into Mary Margaret, who in turn fell into David.

And still the pawnbroker didn't break away from the woman. She was beautiful, with long auburn curls and eyes as bright as the sea and sky. The young woman wore a sleeveless sapphire lace knee- length dress, a thin white silk under the lace.

_Why in the hell was she with him? Who was she? Why the hell didn't anyone recognize her?_

"OH MY GOD," Snow White said, coughing and spluttering like a properly brought up Princess probably should. Emma thought so, anyway.

At her indignantly embarrassed words, Gold released the young lady. She muttered an indignant complaint- something about '_twenty- eight years, and so many years prior, perfectly arranging their love life and you can't get thirty minutes to enjoy yours!',_ Emma believed- but sat back slightly, the spinning wheel spurred on and rotating still. _Disgusting_.

"Miss Swan," Gold said politely, even though he was breathing heavily and his eyes looked slightly dilated and- forget it. That thought could rot in the back of her mind for all eternity, but she never wanted to think about it again. Ever. "What-" he paused. "What need do you have of my services?"

"That's what he said," Ruby quipped behind her.

Emma whirled and glared, and then she turned back to the Dark One- turned- pawnbroker. "What's in the future?"

"Excuse me?"

"The future. What's in store for the town? I thought if the curse was broken everyone was supposed to go back to the Enchanted Forest. Why didn't they?" As usual, Gold was wearing on her nearly nonexistent patience.

"I notice your use of the word 'they'," he said, more to her parents than Emma herself. "You don't intend to go back with the Enchanted Forest inhabitants."

"I- uh- that's not what I asked," Emma covered, a guilty look on her face.

"Why don't you want to go with your family?" the woman asked. Gold turned his head, an affectionate expression appearing when he looked at her. Her voice was soft, melodic, her eyes kind.

"Uh-" Emma stopped. "Who're you?" She knew she sounded rude, but the woman was _making out with Mr. Frickin' Stiltskin_. There were necessary questions, but really, Emma wanted it to be on a need- to- know basis. Really.

The brunette beauty who, at the moment, was still partially sitting on Mr. Gold's lap, extended a pale cream- soft hand gracefully. "Belle of the Dark Castle," she said as Emma gingerly shook it. "Formerly Belle of Avonlea."

"Belle, as in, like, _Beauty and the Beast_ Belle?" Emma asked, completely dumbfounded.

Belle looked confused. Gold was watching her, Emma observed. His eyes followed her every move. _Did he actually _love her_? This place was getting more and more dysfunctional by the _second_. Millisecond_. _NANOSECOND_. "

"What's _Beauty and the Beast_?" she asked curiously, turning to the- _um_- turning to Gold. "Is that a book?"

_I'll take your not- really- an- answer as a yes_, Emma thought. "Sort of…?" she answered slowly; at this point eager to leave and let Gold get on with - whatever he was doing.

"I will show you it later, Belle," Gold promised the apparent Beauty. He glanced at Emma and nodded briefly, and she couldn't resist the urge to grimace. _Well, he _is_ a Beast,_ she reasoned.

Ruby was laughing. Emma quickly seized the opportunity for distraction. "What the hell is so funny?"

Ruby was incoherent at this point, really, but she gasped for air and spluttered, "Beauty… and the Beast… snowball… fight… wolves…"

Emma understood just enough to snort. A snowball fight. Yeah, she'd be okay with hurling a snowball at Gold's (_Rumplestiltskin's_) smirking face, but…

Snow cleared her throat. "Well, we'd best be on our way. Um, to deal with Regina." Her tone shaped her words, and they made her speech into a bubble- a bubble of nervousness and awkward mumbling phrases. _Oh well._

"Yes, let's," Emma said, before Belle could recall the fact that technically, Emma had never answered her question. She placed both hands on Henry's shoulders- honestly, it was a miracle that the kid had stayed silent during _THAT_, but she supposed thanks to the bloody book he already knew about Gold and Belle- and led him out, Snow and Charming and finally Red appearing behind them.

Belle ducked her auburn head out after them. "Emma, can I talk to you later?" she half- shouted after them. Even with a raised voice, her tone was soft and serene.

Emma smiled. It was nice to know that _some_ of the infamous Disney princesses retained their personalities and didn't have, um, T&CMSU (Totally and Completely Massively Screwed Up) Storybrooke versions. "Alright," she yelled back in response- loudly, because they were already headed to the Mayor's. She had never thought she'd say this in reference to Regina's house, but she was grateful to be going there.

Mostly because it was somewhere away from the two seemingly horny far- from- teenagers.

* * *

Finally, the Charmings were gone. Rumplestiltskin lifted a lock of silky auburn hair away from Belle's eyes and kissed her again. She gasped against his mouth, opening willingly under the sweet pressure, and they were whole. Their relationship may have been shattered fragments of broken hearts, but together, they would sweep up the glass and heal their fragile hearts as one.

* * *

**THE END**

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it:) I'd be glad to hear your opinion! Always up for constructive criticism, so please REVIEW! If you'd like me to continue, I may post a second chapter with Emma and Belle's (and Rumple?) little… chat. **

**- Madison/ AquaJasmine23**


	2. Lesser of Two Evils

**Chapter Two: Lesser of Two Evils**

**A/N: I SUCK. I haven't updated this in- let me think- over a month! Oh, the horror that is end- of- year concerts, exams, and ETC! I'm so sorry! Luckily school is (finally) out, so I'm hoping to have this story wrapped up within a week *crosses fingers*. Thanks!**

* * *

_It wasn't the birds and bees_, Emma thought with some trepidation, _but knowing Gold, it would be worse._

Emma exhaled heavily as she collapsed into her bed. Henry was safe… Regina wasn't planning mass destruction among the populace (which, for her, was something of a major accomplishment) … her parents had granted her a break from their perpetual let- us- talk- to- you attitude and therefore allowing her to sleep. Finally. But now, when she had the opportunity, slumber evaded her. It was, put basically, extremely annoying.

She sat up, frustrated, running a hand through her messy blond hair. Her parents were in the other bedroom, with the door closed, so maybe Emma could 'sneak out' and go for a long stroll (and possibly acquire some strong alcohol) and then return, exhausted enough to fall asleep upon impact.

Images flickered in her mind, flashes of Henry, Snow, Charming, and Regina, and she wondered when her life had gotten so screwed up. _Oh, right. When my ten- year- old kid dragged me from Boston to Maine to 'be the Saviour' and 'break the curse' which 'the Evil Queen cast'._

But if she was being _honest_ to herself… while the events that had transpired that day were certainly confusing and disturbing, that wasn't what kept her awake. She'd slept through (much) worse; a fine example would be the first night she'd spent alone, in jail in Phoenix, at age eighteen and having just learned of Neal's betrayal and abandonment of her.

_So much for 'finding Tallahassee together'_.

But that was the point. The operative word in that statement had been _Neal_.

Gold and Belle. Alright, she had admitted it, albeit mentally. The way they're been making out when she'd burst into the back room- to be totally 100% _completely_ truthful, it reminded her of how _Neal_ used to kiss _her_, and how _he_ would embrace _her_ like that, like she was the only thing that would ever keep him from drowning.

Or maybe that was simply the way all teens supposedly tended to make out- with that unconquerable, unstoppably powerful (and somewhat lustful) blaze of unadulterated passion- and Gold and Belle were… simply having a heated reunion? Emma didn't recall seeing Belle _before_ breaking the curse, so…

There _was_ something else about the (very) odd pair that gave her the bright spark of déjà vu, but Emma couldn't touch on it. But it spurred her on anyways.

_The 'sweet little bookworm' and the all- powerful- dark- mage- turned- pawnbroker in freaking _love_- who'd have thought it?_

And the last little piece of déjà vu (_and to think, she couldn't even remember _why _it was déjà vu_!) was gnawing at her already stretched- to- bits mind… Neal Cassidy. It was like his spirit (or a piece of it, anyways) had somehow lodged in the kiss.

_Because yeah, that was totally possible._

Emma's mental sarcasm was halfhearted at best, because as much as she might not _like_ it, the truth of the matter was that it probably _was_ possible. And that was undeniably _wrong_.

She couldn't _sleep_. Like, at all. In the back of her brain, she wondered exactly how pissed Belle might get if Emma knocked on the 'salmon' (it was _pink_!) door of Mr. Gold's house at- what was it, eleven at night? – AND was all like, "Sup? Ready for the little chitchat you requested?"

Yeah, no.

Plus the thought of any 'reunion nightcap' Rumple and Belle might or might not be having pulled Emma up short; there was no way in _hell_ she'd _ever_ be risking that unless, like, Henry was dying or something. She'd rather see her _own_ parents 'do the deed' than _GOLD_.

Besides, should Emma _ever_ happen to see that, she wouldn't get any sleep for… _um, until she literally passed out? _Which was bound to take at least three days of horrifying mental images before granting her peace in slumber.

She scrambled under the covers again, now desperate for sleep so she would have the energy to talk to Belle tomorrow. Maybe then the odd sense of deja vu would stop pestering her.

* * *

The morning after the little interruption, Rumplestiltskin woke with a start, furiously scanning the room and hoping to hell that he hadn't dreamt up the shattered curse and Belle's return from "death"- and there. There she was. Asleep, and glorious in slumber, wearing a dark gold satin nightdress, her auburn curls waving around the silk- covered pillow, her skin soft as the sand. Imaginably softer. He let out a battered exhale born of unadulterated relief. She was there, safe, and most importantly _alive_.

* * *

Belle awoke not moments later to find her beloved in dark silk pyjamas, eyes half- closed, staring at the ceiling. Almost without thinking, she rolled towards him (she had barely convinced him to let her sleep in his bed, let alone up against him) and buried her face in his lean chest. He let out a huff of surprise- and- when she looked up at him, she thought she saw lust in his dark amber- brown eyes. "Rumple," she said, her voice slightly croaky.

"Belle- you're awake," he breathed, and she caught his eyes scan her sleep- ridden form before returning to her own. "Are you alright, then?"

He was referring to the nightmare that had plagued her before she'd awakened half- shrieking in torment around midnight. He had held her as she'd fallen asleep again. Her sleep had been blessedly dreamless after that, and she had loved the feeling of being in his arms. "Yes, I'm fine." She yawned then, and stretched, wincing as her muscles groaned- a sign of underuse, which was understandable considering the amount of time she'd been in the asylum. "Can we get breakfast?"

"Of course," he answered immediately. "There's a place in town called Granny's. They serve breakfast."

"Can we go?"

"Indeed."

* * *

Less than half an hour later, Belle was dressed in a light blue blouse and a matching white skirt that came to just above her knees. Gold flats adorned her feet; her hair was half pulled back, half loose. She was extremely curious as to what this "Granny's" was.

Soon they were both ready- and so they departed with minimal haste, and Belle could see the torn relief and urge to relax a bit more in her beloved's amber gaze.

It was a fairly short walk to the diner.

* * *

At the diner, Emma was talking to her parents about her past. She had just gone over the third adoption home when Snow gasped out an "Emma, _no_" and she stopped.

But to her dismay, when she stopped, she looked up and saw who had just entered Granny's: everyone's least favourite pawnbroker. And the woman he loved (apparently). Belle.

"Emma!" Belle said across the diner. Emma felt the stares of several Storybrooke inhabitants bore into her back, and she scanned the small diner, a "shut up or get your ass kicked" look on her face. Nevertheless, she stood and crossed the room to meet the couple.

"How are you?" the cheerful brunette asked her straightaway, blue eyes bright and excited.

Emma decided on a simple response. "Tired," she said truthfully, and indeed there were dark circles etched beneath her eyes. "You?" It was around ten, she guessed.

"Pretty good," Belle said, a little wearily this time, and Emma didn't miss the look she shot at Mr. Gold. But still- the young blue- eyed bookworm didn't look like she was going through PTSD or the afterglows of "reunion sex"- so maybe she was simply worn out. For real.

The silence that filled Granny's was decidedly a most awkward one, Emma thought.

"So do you actually like reading all that much?" she asked Belle, mostly to just _speak_.

Belle's face lit up, clear and light like summer breezes and oceans. "Yes, of course! How did you know?"

"For one thing," Emma replied, pointing, "the book in your bag. For another thing, the fact that reading is a key trait of Beauty's personality in _Beauty and the Beast_."

An inquisitive look sparked in Belle's eyes. "Rumple, you really must show me what this thing is. And what a movie is," she added, smiling at Emma, who raised her eyebrows at Rumplestiltskin as if to say _have fun with that_.

"Very well, sweetheart," he said into her ear. But Emma, who grimaced immediately, had overheard. Well! It was kind of _awkward_ hearing _Mr. Gold _use endearments for a woman who was surely (at least) twenty years his junior, so _excuse her_!

"So are you up for that talk today?" Belle asked Emma enthusiastically, her energy not dimmed by the (somewhat) early hour whatsoever.

Emma shrugged. "Yeah, alright. Where…?" She trailed off, feeling rather ineffectual and helpless- how the hell would Belle know where they could meet and talk? Granny's was too crowded, and aside from the aforementioned diner and Gold's house, where else had she been- excluding the asylum itself, which clearly was a no brainer?

"My house," Gold interrupted from his seat he'd taken beside Belle.

"_You're_ included in this chat?" Emma couldn't help but say, snarky like a poked badger. She shot a sceptical look at Belle, who didn't seem to notice.

"Alright- no. _Deal_- Rumple, it can be in your house and you can listen, but I don't want you interrupting or anything of the sort," Belle compromised with glowing blue- iolite orbs that Emma could practically see boring into Rumplestiltskin's.

And she did indeed watch Gold consider the matter. It was quite interesting to observe his eyebrows raise, his eyes squint, and his mouth tighten before he finally said to Belle, "Fine. I will not interrupt your planned speech."

"Deal," Belle repeated, glancing at Emma, who nodded her acquiescence.

* * *

Moments later, Mr. Gold and Belle were finished with their syrup- glazed waffles and fruit, and as Ruby took their plates away, they stood. Belle shook Emma's hand, grinning softly with rose- pink lips."Thank you, Emma," she said gratefully. "I'll see you around… three this afternoon?"

Emma nodded at her, smiling in response. "Sure. See you then, Belle."

And as the couple left the diner, Emma could've swore she saw Gold turn his head and nod twice at her, blatant appreciation in his dark eyes. She inclined her head as he left. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

* * *

**A/N: Oh the horror that is this TINY freaking chapter! I'm so sorry, I am pretty sure I promised to have the actual DISCUSSION between Emma and Belle (and now Rumple, tee hee) in this chap, but I promised myself to try and work on the chapters for my other story for the cover bunnies contest, and I have a lot of inspiration for that one at the moment so- well, we ended up with a chapter two that totalled less than 2,000 words. All time low for me. :( I SWEAR I will have chapter three out by either tomorrow or Tuesday (hopefully tomorrow)! Thanks for sticking with me, and please REVIEW and let me know what you thought of this itsy- bitsy little thing FFN deems a chapter two!**


	3. The Talk

**Chapter Three: The Talk**

* * *

**A/N: Very unimaginative chapter title, I know. Yep, didn't have this out until today (sorry) but I've been working on Chapter Two of True Love: It's Forever (nearly finished) and kind of neglected to even start this until, like, 11pm (Tuesday). :( Enjoy!**

* * *

It was three o'clock in the afternoon. Belle looked at the large mantel clock in Rumple's living room, astonished that the time had passed so quickly since they'd arrived home from Granny's. In that time, in preparation for Emma's arrival, Belle had cleaned the house and de- cluttered all the rooms, eaten lunch with her True Love, and finished a book her new friend Ruby had recommended called _Fifty Shades of Grey_. It was… meant to be erotic, she knew, but it was nothing compared to some of the old velvet- bound novels she'd discovered in the library Rumple had built for her in the Dark Castle. Still, it had been a good read. She reminded herself to thank Ruby.

"Is Miss Swan here?" Rumple called to her from the balcony, clad in the same impeccable dark suit he'd worn to Granny's Diner.

She shook her head- he could see her from up there, she thought- and said, "No, she isn't. But she'll come."

"I have no doubt she will."

True to her word, Emma appeared not five minutes later, breathing fast, her cell phone in hand. "Sorry," she gasped. "Henry wanted to come. I had to make a run for it while he was in the bathroom."

Belle smiled welcomingly. "He could've come," she said, agreeably, "I wouldn't have minded."

"Speak for yourself," she heard Rumple mutter behind her, low enough that only she would hear. She shot him a chastising look and let Emma into the house.

* * *

Emma had to admit, she was slightly awed by the immaculate furnishing and decor in Mr. Gold's pink (_pink_!) Victorian. Belle had welcomed her in easily, Mr. Gold himself looming behind her like a shadow. She scanned the place quickly, Belle directing her to a living room, where she hesitantly sank down onto a red leather couch.

"I…" Emma was at a loss for words. Which usually didn't happen to her. People simply never had that effect on her. Apparently Belle and Mr. Gold- combined to conquer- did.

Belle sat on the white sofa opposite her, and after a moment Mr. Gold joined her, resting his gold- handled cane on the edge.

Considering her words, Emma spoke slowly. "Um… so… what's your story?"

Belle fidgeted on the couch, and looked at Gold before saying, "I was born to King Maurice and Queen Beatrice, the rulers of the kingdom of Avonlea." She blinked. "When I was about twelve, my mother was killed in an assassination meant for me. She… died to protect me." The words, softly spoken, were full of lifetimes of pain, and Emma felt a rush of sympathy. "My father turned colder- less the benevolent King and more the manipulator," she clarified, with another look at Gold, who smiled at her. _Smiled_.

"Belle, you don't have to-" Gold began, hastily.

Belle exhaled lightly, effectively cutting him off. "Rumple, please." She brushed a lock of hair away from her aquamarine eyes. "My father signed a betrothal contract with Sir Leroex- the father of Sir Gaston, a boisterous knight in my father's army- and would have me be wed at twenty… which was at the time very late. My mother married my father at fifteen, I think. But then…" She sighed. "The ogres came, and brought havoc with them. They plagued our lands for nearly four years before we became desperate enough to call on the one being who could rid them from our land _forever_."

Emma could connect the puzzle pieces now. "He summoned Gold," she surmised, looking at the pawnbroker more than Belle herself.

He inclined his head in silence.

"Well, actually, it was my idea to summon the Dark One," Belle admitted. "As you may have heard, Rumplestiltskin never makes a deal without a price. And in this case… his price was me."

Emma had in fact heard of his nefarious reputation for dealmaking from her fairytale- obsessed son, but she had not expected a demand so exorbitant. "You dealt for a _human_?" she said to Gold incredulously, frowning as though upon murder.

He laughed. And so did she. Which was just a tad bit strange. "Indeed I did." At her look of disgust, he added, "Oh. Don't you worry your little blond head, Ms. Swan, it was purely for cleaning purposes. My Belle was the caretaker…" And here his face slipped into a rather devious grin. "Of my rather large… _estate_."

Emma glanced at Belle, who nodded as if to say _yeah, I know, it's ridiculous, but it's true_.

"So what happened?" she asked the brunette, confused still.

"I fell in love with him," Belle admitted, as freely as though she was speaking of the weather forecast. "And… we suffered for it."

The sheriff raised her eyebrows.

"I…" Belle blushed a bit, which made Emma wonder, but she continued on anyway. "I kissed him," she said quietly, "because Regina said it would break his curse. And it nearly did. But…"

"But I acted truly like the selfish bastard you think of me as," Gold interjected calmly, "and I threw the little Beauty in the dungeon. And then I cast her out of my castle and out of my life. And…" His voice trembled with anger. "Your Evil Queen captured her, and took her to her own Winter Palace, to hold her hostage without my knowledge in the North Tower so she could- so she could _torture _her. Torture _my Belle_ for her own sick _amusement_." He was shaking, Emma saw, and she was somewhat frightened; this was the most display of emotion she had _ever_ seen from Gold. "When the Dark Curse was cast, she had the dark nerve to _keep Belle in the asylum beneath the basement, for twenty- eight years_. And all the while… I thought she was _dead_. Because that was what _Regina_-" he nearly spat her name "-led me to believe."

Belle's eyes were watery blue now, like a glass of coloured water. She leaned against Gold.

"What did she tell you?" Emma wondered, almost afraid to ask.

Gold- or, rather, Rumplestiltskin- _snarled_. "She came to my Dark Castle," he growled, "and said 'her father shunned her. Cut her off. Shut her out'… at which point, I asked if she… needed a home."

Belle's face shone with sadness as she looked at the pawnbroker, and Emma felt it. She felt _sorry_ for them.

Gold wasn't finished, and the muscles of his jaw clenched as he went on. "The Evil Queen said to me, 'he was cruel to her. He- he- _locked her in a tower_'." His hands clenched where they sat fisted together on his lap, and Belle leaned further against him. He looked at her then, like she was the only thing that would keep his heart from shattering, and Emma then could not fathom how they had survived. Together. It made her think of Neal again.

When Gold concluded, his tone was like a tornado, dropping and whirling in cold, unforgiving fury. "'And sent in _clerics_ to… cleanse her soul… with scourges and flaying'," he quoted Regina's words, and Emma now more than ever understood why he hated her so much. "She told me," he whispered, apparently now beyond repeating the Evil Queen's taunts to him, "that she had committed suicide. Jumped off the tower. _Died_," he spat.

Emma realized something that had been surely staring her in the face this entire conversation. "Oh my God," she said. "That's why, on Valentine's Day, when you…"

Rumplestiltskin nodded, grimly but acceptedly. "Why I beat Moe French nearly to death with a cane, yes."

Belle showed next to no reaction to this; Emma assumed even though the fault in her imprisonment had not been her father's so much as the Evil Queen's, King Maurice had still done a grievous wrongdoing back in their land, and so Gold had told his _True Love _of the caning incident.

"And why you sent that… _thing _after Regina."

"The Wraith. Yes."

Emma could not help but understand now, and she regretted being so harsh before. Even though she'd never say it aloud.

"What about you, Emma?" Belle inquired. "Why don't you want to go back to the Enchanted Forest with your family?"

Emma flinched. But she supposed it was only fair for her to answer Belle's queries after she had shared her and Gold's dark, twisted version of _Beauty and the Beast_. "I… don't really know. I just don't think it's _my life_. It's too much- all of it. I can barely take the fact that Rumplestiltskin is the Beast. How would I take a world full of all this screwed-ness?"

She didn't dare look at the two sitting opposite her.

"Emma," Gold said, his voice warmer than she'd ever heard it, "you're not honestly concerned about _fitting in there_?"

She heard more than saw Belle slap him on the arm; without meaning to, she grinned. And then looked sheepish. "…Maybe."

"Well, you shouldn't be!" Belle burst out, before Gold could throw in a snappish retort. "I _never_ fit into society, and I ended up with True Love! Emma, _please_. You've changed the lives of everyone here. It would be so terribly drab without you there. _Please_ think about coming with us!"

There was something that flashed on Gold's face that looked to Emma like a secret kept, but (now) she knew better than to pry. She stood up, noting that over half an hour had passed- _they'd talked for that long?_ - and made to leave. "Thank you, Belle," she said sincerely, and grudgingly she added, "You too, Gold. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome!" Belle called brightly, and as she left, she caught Gold's smile.

* * *

Emma entered her mother's apartment with a grin on her face. "Hey, kid!" she exclaimed, upon seeing Henry, who sat on the counter with the Once Upon a Time book as usual. "Want some ice cream?"

Her son's face lightened considerably. "Yeah, sure!"

_Maybe starting over in the Enchanted Forest with all her friends and family would be a good fresh beginning,_ Emma thought with a smile.

* * *

**A/N: UUUUUGGHHH my pitiful little short chappie. *sad face*. I was half- asleep when I wrote this. Sorry if it sucks. It probably does. Just wanted to get it out in time (although technically, it's Wednesday, so- sorry! :( I kept writing bits of True Love: It's Forever into this and had to go back and change it, so apologies in advance for any typos and such. **

**I am unfortunately quite busy Wednesday and Thursday, so hopefully chapter four will be out Saturday- not quite sure. Next chapter: Emma has a proper talk with her parents about the EF, Ruby and Belle chat over iced teas, and Rumple works on finding Baelfire. Not certain whether next chapter or chapter five will be the last one.**

**Thanks ever so much to all who reviewed, favourited, or followed! Love you all, dearies, and please share your opinions, whether they are good or bad, on this latest chapter!**


End file.
